Greenburgh supervisor calls for renewed ban on gun shows at County Center

Following the deadly school shooting in Newtown, Conn., Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner is asking county officials to renew a ban on firearm and knife shows at the Westchester County Center.

“Government buildings shouldn’t be used to promote the purchase of guns,” Feiner told The Journal News. “I’m calling on the county executive and legislature to pass local laws prohibiting these types of events at the County Center.”

The shows were banned by Andrew Spano when he was county executive, shortly after school shootings claimed the lives of 14 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., and left six students wounded at Heritage High School in Conyers, Ga.

County Executive Rob Astorino brought back the events in 2010 after promising gun owners during his election campaign that he would reconsider the ban, which lasted for 11 years.

Feiner said Astorino was appealing to the National Rifle Association when he repealed the ban, and should strongly reconsider his decision.

“Somebody told me yesterday, ‘We go to the County Center to see Barney—not to buy guns,’” Feiner said. “We’re sending the wrong message.”

Greg Shillinglaw is a multimedia reporter for The Journal News and Lohud.com. He covers the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, and reports breaking news on Sunday nights. Greg graduated from Syracuse University in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast and digital journalism. He grew up in Irvington, N.Y., and now lives with his girlfriend in Manhattan. For updates on Westchester news, follow him on Twitter @gshilly.